In Flanders' Fields

In Flanders' Fields

In Flanders' Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' Fields.

Take up your quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' Fields.
Major John McCrae, 1915

****

I visited Ypres sunday, together with one of my friends who had a friend over from the UK. It was a very impressive visit to a town and landscape that still holds vivid memories to the first world war. Many white pristine grave yards of various sizes scatter across the landscape, silent witnesses of a war that was meant to end all other wars. Since then 250 more conflicts have started, and there's no end in sight just yet.

We went by car which gave us the opportunity to visit the surrounding areas. We first visited the exhibition "In Flanders' Fields" which is an interactive tale about WWI, focusing on Ypres and its surroundings (obviously) but leave room for the whole picture. It was absolutely fascinating. Afterwards we checked out the Menin Gate where the names of the soldiers from the Brittish Commonwealth who have no known grave are engraved into the wall. It's a list that has no ending. There are so many names.

After lunch, we took the car and started our tour, going by different monuments and grave yards... (my friend has the booklet so I'm going by what I remember)

In Flanders' Fields

(pictures in order of appearance)

Cloth Hall
Completely destroyed and rebuild after the war... They needed 40 years to restore it back to its former glory. (the whole of Ypres was destroyed during WWI)

Menin Gate
"To the armies of the British Empire who stood here from 1914 to 1918 and to those of their dead who have no known grave."
"Ad majoram dei gloriam - Here are recorded names of officers and men who fell in Ypres Salient but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death."

The list just never ends...


John McCrae Memorial
Major John McCrae was a Canadian doctor who wrote the famous poem "In Flanders' Fields" while he was at an advanced aid post at Essex Farm, near Ypres, in 1915. The poem inspired the use of the poppy as an enduring symbol of remembrance. McCrae died with the rank of Lt. Colonel in January 1918 and is buried at Wimereux, France.

The youngest soldier buried on this grave yard was only 15 years old when he died, Valentine Joe Strudwick. The aid post where McCrae worked is on the left side if you're standing on the road in the far back of the cemetary.

French Memorial
This cross was placed on the place where several French soldiers used to be buried. They were unearthed and returned home, and instead they left a small memorial in their honour.

In the back you might notice an Irish flag. It's the place where another soldier-poet was buried, though his remains were moved to the cemetary a little further down the road.

Deutsche Friedhof
This is the only German cemetary in the neighborhood of Ypres. It's very dark in theme and color, and there are not individual graves. It's a big mass grave and almost all of the soldiers are unknown.
The big grey blocks hold the names of all the known soldiers. And there are 4 grieving figures in the back.

Canadian Memorial
Memorial for the fallen soldiers of Canadian heritage. The statue shows a soldier, resting his hands on the butt of his weapon.

Tyne Cot
Tyne Cot is the biggest cemetary, situated near Paschendale where one of the most gruelling battles of the war took place, and many soldiers died. When one enters, there's first a bit of information where a voice announces all the names of the known soldiers including their ages, and that is spooky. It sends shivers down your spine. Of the tens of thousands that lie buried here, only a handful have been identified (partially or complete). It's huge and again there are so many headstones glistening in the sun. Dave, the UK-fella, compared the headstones to a white army waiting for their orders to move out.

The headstones carry a cross or the star of David when their jewish, or nothing when it isn't known or it's a non-believer. There's also the emblem of the batallion and sometimes a message/text from relatives and/or friends. it will hold the name of the fallen hero, info on rank, date of death and sometimes age. When there's no identication, it will say "Known unto God".



In the evening, we attended the Last Post. This daily tribute - performed by a team of local buglers - serves to honour the memory of the soldiers of the British Empire, who fought and died in the immortal Ypres Salient during the First World War.

***************************

I had an incredible weekend. The weather was absolutely great and the company was awesome. I'd love to this again, maybe do a real roadtrip around the country or take this abroad. It was fun.

In Flanders' Fields

In Flanders' Fields

In Flanders' Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' Fields.

Take up your quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' Fields.
Major John McCrae, 1915

****

I visited Ypres sunday, together with one of my friends who had a friend over from the UK. It was a very impressive visit to a town and landscape that still holds vivid memories to the first world war. Many white pristine grave yards of various sizes scatter across the landscape, silent witnesses of a war that was meant to end all other wars. Since then 250 more conflicts have started, and there's no end in sight just yet.

We went by car which gave us the opportunity to visit the surrounding areas. We first visited the exhibition "In Flanders' Fields" which is an interactive tale about WWI, focusing on Ypres and its surroundings (obviously) but leave room for the whole picture. It was absolutely fascinating. Afterwards we checked out the Menin Gate where the names of the soldiers from the Brittish Commonwealth who have no known grave are engraved into the wall. It's a list that has no ending. There are so many names.

After lunch, we took the car and started our tour, going by different monuments and grave yards... (my friend has the booklet so I'm going by what I remember)

In Flanders' Fields

(pictures in order of appearance)

Cloth Hall
Completely destroyed and rebuild after the war... They needed 40 years to restore it back to its former glory. (the whole of Ypres was destroyed during WWI)

Menin Gate
"To the armies of the British Empire who stood here from 1914 to 1918 and to those of their dead who have no known grave."
"Ad majoram dei gloriam - Here are recorded names of officers and men who fell in Ypres Salient but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death."

The list just never ends...


John McCrae Memorial
Major John McCrae was a Canadian doctor who wrote the famous poem "In Flanders' Fields" while he was at an advanced aid post at Essex Farm, near Ypres, in 1915. The poem inspired the use of the poppy as an enduring symbol of remembrance. McCrae died with the rank of Lt. Colonel in January 1918 and is buried at Wimereux, France.

The youngest soldier buried on this grave yard was only 15 years old when he died, Valentine Joe Strudwick. The aid post where McCrae worked is on the left side if you're standing on the road in the far back of the cemetary.

French Memorial
This cross was placed on the place where several French soldiers used to be buried. They were unearthed and returned home, and instead they left a small memorial in their honour.

In the back you might notice an Irish flag. It's the place where another soldier-poet was buried, though his remains were moved to the cemetary a little further down the road.

Deutsche Friedhof
This is the only German cemetary in the neighborhood of Ypres. It's very dark in theme and color, and there are not individual graves. It's a big mass grave and almost all of the soldiers are unknown.
The big grey blocks hold the names of all the known soldiers. And there are 4 grieving figures in the back.

Canadian Memorial
Memorial for the fallen soldiers of Canadian heritage. The statue shows a soldier, resting his hands on the butt of his weapon.

Tyne Cot
Tyne Cot is the biggest cemetary, situated near Paschendale where one of the most gruelling battles of the war took place, and many soldiers died. When one enters, there's first a bit of information where a voice announces all the names of the known soldiers including their ages, and that is spooky. It sends shivers down your spine. Of the tens of thousands that lie buried here, only a handful have been identified (partially or complete). It's huge and again there are so many headstones glistening in the sun. Dave, the UK-fella, compared the headstones to a white army waiting for their orders to move out.

The headstones carry a cross or the star of David when their jewish, or nothing when it isn't known or it's a non-believer. There's also the emblem of the batallion and sometimes a message/text from relatives and/or friends. it will hold the name of the fallen hero, info on rank, date of death and sometimes age. When there's no identication, it will say "Known unto God".



In the evening, we attended the Last Post. This daily tribute - performed by a team of local buglers - serves to honour the memory of the soldiers of the British Empire, who fought and died in the immortal Ypres Salient during the First World War.

***************************

I had an incredible weekend. The weather was absolutely great and the company was awesome. I'd love to this again, maybe do a real roadtrip around the country or take this abroad. It was fun.